From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

A delegate is a member of a group called at the interests of a larger organization.(e.g. a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting of some kind (e.g. trade talks, an environmental summit, aid negotiations, or an industrial dispute).

In order to avoid the principal-agent problem, it is generally important to the organization to take steps to ensure that the delegate or delegation does not have a conflict of interest. Failure to do so may reduce the chances of the organization's viewpoint being represented as well as possible.

Delegates from the major political parties are involved in the selection of candidates for President of the United States by such assemblies as a convention. Some of the officials involved in the process are called superdelegates.

Delegate is the title of a person elected to the United States House of Representatives to serve the interests of an organized United States territory, at present only overseas, but historically in most cases in a portion of North America as precursor to one or more of the present states of the union. Delegates have powers similar to that of Representatives, including the right to vote in committee, but have no right to take part in the floor votes in which the full house actually decides whether the proposal is carried. See: Delegate (United States Congress).

A similar mandate is held in a few cases under the style Resident commissioner.

• Delegate is also the title given to individuals elected to the lower houses of the bicameral legislative bodies of the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia (see House of Delegates).

• Members of other parliamentary assemblies, such as the Continental Congress or the New York State Constitutional

• Members of a body charged with writing or revising a foundational or other basic governmental document (such as members of a constitutional convention are usually referred to as "delegates".

Look up delegate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Apostolic delegate (papal)
• Papal delegate was the title of a Prelate in charge of a 'delegation', a type of temporal province within the Papal States
• Pontifical Delegate (papal, various purposes)
• Edelegate - Electronic delegation of services
• The Delegates, a 1970's novelty song group

This does not cite any references or sources. (June 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

 This occupation- or vocation-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This law-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.